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Friday, March 20, 2020

109 dead in 31 days: The 1918 Spanish Influenza at Florida State Hospital

Dozens rest in forgotten graves at Chattahoochee, Florida.

by Dale Cox

A surviving wooden grave marker at Florida State Hospital
Cemetery No. 3 in Chattahoochee, Florida.
As America deals with a growing COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic, mention is often made of the terrible Spanish Influenza of 1918. 

The flu struck in the early fall of that year, sickening entire communities in as few as 48-hours. The pandemic was especially deadly in military camps, prisons, and other places where large numbers of people lived in close proximity. At the Florida Industrial School for Boys in Marianna, for example, 264 of the 267 students were incapacitated in less than two days (please see The Pandemic of 1918 at Marianna's School for Boys).

At Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, things were even worse.

Florida State Hospital as it appeared in 1918. The old brick
building and its tower were part of the original Apalachicola
Arsenal complex around which the hospital developed.
Cemetery records for Cemetery No. 3 at the facility show that 109 people died in October 1918 alone. This number does not include patients who were buried elsewhere or staff members who fell ill and lost their lives. [1]

Considerable evidence shows that the deadly influenza was spread through North Florida by a special "relic train." The train traveled on the railroad from Jacksonville west through Florida to Pensacola, stopping in Tallahassee, Quincy, Marianna, and elsewhere:

     The United States Government War Relic Train was at Quincy this morning from 7:30 to 9:30, and quite a large number of people from both the city and county viewed the wonderful exhibits sent out by the government to bring home to the people the closeness of the great struggle.
     Captain L.M. Dixon, lieutenant H.B. Smith and Private, Gabriel Rubino, were the main speakers and entertained the audience with patriotic appeals. There were quite a number of catchy songs by other parties in the government train, which were enjoyed very much by the audience.
     Chairman Wilson, of the Liberty Loan Committee, aided by his fellow members, worked among the audience, securing pledges for the Liberty Loan. [2]

The paddlewheel steamboat Amos Hayes at the railroad bridge
over the Apalachicola at Chattahoochee (River Junction),
Florida. The "relic train" crossed here on Oct. 5, 1918.
The train's journey through Gadsden and Jackson Counties took place on October 5, 1918. People began to fall ill and die almost as soon as it passed.

In Tallahassee, for example, medical authorities reported the spread of the deadly illness less than 48-hours after the train's visit but noted there was no cause for alarm. Before another 24-hours passed, however, people were dying in the city, and the mayor ordered all public places to close their doors.

Quincy developed cases almost simultaneously with Tallahassee. Chattahoochee and Marianna followed just hours later.

At Florida State Hospital, the doctors and nurses were overwhelmed with deathly ill patients. Available statistics show that patients began to die on October 6, 1918, and the death toll soared in the days that followed.

The Administration Building of Florida State Hospital was
the original officer's quarters of the Apalachicola Arsenal.
Patients continued to die in large numbers through the second and third weeks of October. The youngest, oldest, and weakest went first. By the end of the month, it was all but over. The death toll dropped just as suddenly as it had risen. Only the graves remained to tell the story.

Influenza surged again in November-December 1918, bringing even more deaths and more burials.

Cemetery No. 3 is one of several such burial grounds on and around the hospital and was the one in use in 1918. It is in the woods near Mosquito Creek and is not maintained although it is on state property. Hurricane Michael toppled trees there and damaged remaining grave markers, most of which were made of wood and bore only numbers to identify the unfortunate people interred there. The victims of the 1918 pandemic, with hundreds of other forgotten souls, rest in silence and neglect.

It is now impossible to identify who is buried in most of the graves, but the cemetery ledgers indicate that the following people died at the hospital in October 1918. Deaths before October 5 were likely of other causes.

DEATHS AT FLORIDA STATE HOSPITAL

October 1-31, 1918


1.      Acuff, Miss Clara                      Age 26             WF                   10/16/1918
2.      Albritton, John                         Age 22             WM                 10/4/1918
3.      Alderman, Britt                        Age 25             WM                 10/11/1918
4.      Allen, Rollie                             Age 8               BM                  10/17/1918
5.      Almy, Lillie                              Age 27             WF                   10/20/1918
6.      Arnau, Eugene                          Age 34             WM                 10/7/1918
7.      Ash, Joe                                   Age 23             BM                  10/23/1918
8.      Bailey, W.L.                             Age 71             WM                 10/9/1918
9.      Baker, Mrs. Charlotte                Age 38             WF                   10/21/1918
10.   Baldwin, Peter                          Age 66             WM                 10/5/1918
11.   Beauchamp, Miss Minnie          Age 20             WF                   10/21/1918
12.   Bellamy, Frank                         Age 13             BM                  10/15/1918
13.   Bennett, Coley                          Age 17             WM                 10/20/1918
14.   Berry, Walter                            Age 25             M                     10/24/1918
15.   Brown, Alice                            Age 39             BF                    10/7/1918
16.   Brown, Jacob                            Age 60             BM                  10/18/1918
17.   Bryant, Annie                           Age 29             BF                    10/15/1918
18.   Bustin, Mrs. Elizabeth               Age 47             WF                   10/20/1918
19.   Butler, Julia                              Age 40             BF                    10/14/1918
20.   Cason, Gertrude                        Age 38             BF                    10/14/1918
21.   Chasen, Samuel                        Age 54             WM                 10/6/1918
22.   Cobb, E.C.                                Age 50             WM                 10/8/1918
23.   Davis, George                           Age 40             BM                  10/5/1918
24.   Demps, Gussie                          Age 24             BF                    10/16/1918
25.   Dingham, Ella                           Age 28             WF                   10/15/1918
26.   Unknown                                 Age                  WM                 10/1918
27.   Ellis, Daniel                              Age 18             BM                  10/12/1918
28.   Ferguson, Fronia                       Age 30             BF                    10/19/1918
29.   Francis, C.W.                            Age 51             WM                 10/11/1918
30.   Francis, George                         Age 34             BM                  10/14/1918
31.   Franklin, Thomas                      Age 75             WM                 10/15/1918
32.   Gaross, Maria                           Age 74             WF                   10/8/1918
33.   Golding, John                           Age 15             WM                 10/17/1918
34.   Goosby, Ida                              Age 47             BF                    10/8/1918
35.   Green, Polly Ann                      Age                  WF                   10/28/1918
36.   Hall, Rachel                              Age 75             BF                    10/16/1918
37.   Harin, Will                               Age 31             BM                  10/12/1918       
38.   Harrell, Willie                           Age 41             WM                 10/15/1918
39.   Harris, W.                                 Age                  BF                    10/12/1918
40.   Hill, James Palmer                    Age 25             WM                 10/14/1918
41.   Hinkley, Lewis                          Age 21             WM                 10/7/1918
42.   Holmes, Eliza                           Age 50             BF                    10/20/1918
43.   Horn, J.B.                                 Age                  WM                 10/4/1918
44.   Hutchinson, M.T.                      Age 39             WM                 10/3/1918
45.   Isaac, Marinda                          Age 3               BF                    10/2/1918
46.   Jenson, Arthur                          Age                  WM                 10/17/1918
47.   Johnson, Jim                             Age 37             BM                  10/31/1918
48.   Johnson, Robert                        Age 26             BM                  10/10/1918
49.   Jones, Charles                           Age                  BM                  10/19/1918
50.   Kelly, Gladys                            Age 23             BF                    10/13/1918
51.   Kennedy, Miss Jennie               Age 30             WF                   10/24/1918
52.   Kensler, Mary                           Age 43             BF                    10/7/1918
53.   Larcus, Rebecca                        Age 46             BF                    10/14/1918
54.   Lee, Charles                             Age 56             BM                  10/10/1918
55.   Lee, John                                 Age 34             WM                 10/8/1918
56.   Lee, Mary Jane                         Age 45             WF                   10/24/1918
57.   Lender, Mrs. Belle                    Age 51             WF                   10/20/1918
58.   Logan, Jim                               Age 59             WM                 10/7/1918
59.   Mathis, Mrs. Maud                    Age 34             WF                   10/20/1918
60.   Medino, Patrick                        Age 33             WF?                 10/8/1918
61.   Mercer, Mrs. Nancy                  Age 82             WF                   10/20/1918
62.   Milam, Benjamin B.                  Age 32             WM                 10/6/1918
63.   Miller, Moses                            Age 15             BM                  10/19/1918
64.   Moody, John B.                        Age                  WM                 10/12/1918
65.   Moondeck, George                    Age                  WM                 10/31/1918
66.   Moore, Mrs. Maggie                  Age 34             WF                   10/19/1918
67.   Moore, Maxie                           Age 25 or 30     BM                  10/14/1918
68.   Neel, James Edward                  Age 14             WM                 10/25/1918
69.   Parker, Sam                              Age 27             BM                  10/18/1918
70.   Pettington, Livingston               Age 28             BM                  10/16/1918
71.   Pinkston, Albert                        Age                  WM                 10/30/1918
72.   Potts, Carl                                 Age 18             WM                 10/21/1918
73.   Price, W.M.M.                          Age 51             WM                 10/16/1918
74.   Reed, Sarah                              Age 40             WF                   10/31/1918
75.   Richards, Willie                        Age 24             BF                    10/19/1918
76.   Richardson, Emily                    Age 29             BF                    10/17/1918
77.   Richardson, Jefferson                Age 31             BM                  10/12/1918       
78.   Ridditt, Mary                            Age 25             WF                   10/12/1918
79.   Robertson, Alderman                Age 44             WM                 10/14/1918
80.   Russ, Maude                             Age 17             BF                    10/26/1918
81.   Russell, D.S.                             Age 27             WM                 10/10/1918
82.   Saunders, Thomas                     Age 36             WM                 10/10/1918
83.   Seabury, Charles N.                  Age 80             WM                 10/25/1918
84.   Sharp, John                              Age 46             BM                  10/14/1918
85.   Sheronse, Olin                          Age 35             WM                 10/17/1918
86.   Smith, Lillie Mae                      Age 16             BF                    10/3/1918
87.   Stephens, Christopher C.           Age 36             BM                  10/17/1918
88.   Stephens, Josephine                  Age 51             BF                    10/17/1918
89.   Stephens, Mary                         Age 31             BF                    10/15/1918
90.   Sumler, Charles                        Age                  BM                  10/11/1918
91.   Taylor, Annie                           Age 25             BF                    10/15/1918
92.   Thomas, Henry                         Age 44             BM                  10/8/1918
93.   Thomas, Martha                        Age 49             BF                    10/24/1918
94.   Truluck, William                       Age 40             BM                  10/19/1918
95.   Wade, Albert                            Age 21             BM                  10/10/1918
96.   Walker, Dennis                         Age 24             BM                  10/26/1918
97.   Ward, Gus                                Age 36             BM                  10/11/1918
98.   Warren, Major                          Age                  BM                  10/20/1918
99.   Washington, George                  Age 73             BM                  12/15/1918
100.                    Webster, Pinkie                         Age 17             BF                    10/23/1918
101.                    Wheeler, Mary                          Age 36             BF                    10/22/1918
102.                    Whitehurst, John                      Age 52             WM                 10/11/1918
103.                    Whitehurst, Lillie May              Age 18             WF                   10/18/1918
104.                    Wiggins, Emma                        Age 17             BF                    10/19/1918
105.                    Williams, Fannie                       Age 40             BF                    10/15/1918
106.                    Williams, Henry                        Age 68             BM                  10/14/1918
107.                    Williams, J.H.                           Age 56             BM                  10/6/1918
108.                    Williams, Lula                          Age 43             BF                    10/15/1918

109.                    Williams, Spencer                     Age 37             BM                  10/20/1918



REFERENCES:

[1] Cemetery Ledgers, Florida State Hospital.
[2] Pensacola Journal, October 5, 1918.


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